Now somebody's flying their drone or whatever you want to call it near a Medevac  helicopters? Link to news story
I know that we can't fix stupid but this needs to stop! This hobby will not have a future if this type of activity continues. We are on thin ice with these things and need to be considerate on how we fly.  Each and everyone of us is an ambassador to the future of this hobby and it's future is in our hands... Literally.

-Dog

Drones as high as 10000 feet! DAAAAYUUUUM. That is nuts. Not our lil' guys. But that doesn't matter, I know. Looks like they have a personal vendetta out west.

jimcloud74@yaho Posted at 2015-8-14 10:46
Drones as high as 10000 feet! DAAAAYUUUUM. That is nuts. Not our lil' guys. But that doesn't matter, ...

I know, it seems like every day there's a new news article about somebody doing something stupid with these things here in Cali.

-Dog

Ugh.  Stories like this make me cringe.  

Dont you find it odd that we have not seen any evidence of these drones . Has anyone seen video or pictures of drones flying close to airports or buzzing aircraft like this? Did I hear that right in the video that one of the airline pilots saw a drone 6  miles away from the plane or was it seen 6 miles from the the airport?

Every day this week has had negative news stories with drones on the evening news.  Not good!!

lb11778 Posted at 2015-8-14 11:47
Dont you find it odd that we have not seen any evidence of these drones . Has anyone seen video or p ...

Well it's not like the pilots of the aircraft that encounter the drones are carrying a camera and can use it to take pictures or video to provide proof.  I think they are a bit busy staying clear of the drone and keeping their aircraft flying. But if you want some proof here is a story in the L.A. Times about a guy who got caught flying by a fire and he did an interview on both news organizations. L.A Times Story another story of the same guy on our local TV station.  Watch both vids. News-10 Story.
I know that there have been people saying that if an aircraft were to hit a drone that it would be no different than a bird strike and there are lots of those with no issue. I disagree, most drones flying would be a rather large bird not made up of soft flesh, feathers and thin bones and if it were to cause a flameout on a jet or strike the tail rotor of a helicopter at low altitude they have a high chance of going down, especially at low of altitude. Pilots of real aircraft have enough to worry about WE DO NOT NEED TO VIOLATE THEIR AIR SPACE... RESPECT!

As for the dork in the news videos I have seen this guy's YouTube channel and have to admit he is a risk taker.  He does a lot of flying over crowds, traffic, sate parks and sport stadiums with a full crowd during a major game to top that off that stadium is less the two miles from Sacramento Executive Airport.  He is also running a business doing aerial video work and I don’t think he has a FAA exemption. I kinda doubt that because he could loose that exemption for flying like he has been.  His website is AirShotz.com

I think he and others like him are a threat to this hobby.

Here he is flying over traffic and people in a state park.
http://youtu.be/wjUwk_3KrRY

Here he is flying over a huge crowd at a public fair, I can’t see how he got permission from everyone in this video.
http://youtu.be/eZGx5cHzMKA

What you should know!

https://www.faa.gov/uas/model_aircraft/

http://knowbeforeyoufly.org

More specifically http://knowbeforeyoufly.org/for-recreational-users/

http://tfr.faa.gov/tfr2/list.html Click on the NOTAM link for the definition.

-Dog

Dive-N-Dog Posted at 2015-8-14 14:07
Well it's not like the pilots of the aircraft that encounter the drones are carrying a camera to ta ...

please, bigger things fly over people and traffic, if your P3 is a solid flying quadcopter and you know what you are doing and you are a responsible person then i dont see any reason not to fly over a river with people and traffic. we cant all just go in the desert and video sand, or the beach and video water or the forest and trees!!
as far as flying near planes and airports( even though a p3 is not going to cause a damage to a big plane, birds bigger hit planes all the time!! but there are smaller planes that yes could get damaged), well that is just irresponsible and lack of respect for the law. and there will always be people like that and they are not going to give a hoot as to what we say!!

rayrokni Posted at 2015-8-14 14:31
please, bigger things fly over people and traffic, if your P3 is a solid flying quadcopter and you ...

I agree but not all drone pilots are experienced, just read how many people in this forum admit their fist quad is their P3 and have crashed it do to lack of experience. If they see videos like that they will think it's ok and they can do it too.
You are right, there are a lot of bird strikes and the bigger the plane the better the chance.  We all have seen how birds brought down this plane. http://youtu.be/WYBYHkQRBao   If you know anything about flying you would know that altitude is your friend. When you at low altitude and low airspeed you do not have much time to react and recover to an emergency.  It just so happens that the drones are flying at these low altitudes, and that is the most dangerous conditions to all real aircraft pilots.
Something to consider birds are made up of  soft flesh, feathers and thin bones and in most cases at low airspeeds they do not cause much damage.  Multi-rotor UAV's are composed of material that can be more of a threat than soft flesh, feathers and thin bones can be. Infact, The lithium-ion batteries alone can be very dangerous.  If an aircraft were strike a drone in the right location it could do something like this http://youtu.be/wYLhbm_YHOY or worse look at this http://youtu.be/2BGtUxR_2xE. I don't think there is a bird alive that could spontaneously combust, do you? My opinion you can't compare a bird strike to a drone strike.
-Dog

what... we can't fly over a river that has a person in it now? Did somebody type that here?

brycerichert Posted at 2015-8-14 15:15
what... we can't fly over a river that has a person in it now? Did somebody type that here?

Yes the YouTube video of someone flying over a river and bridge, apparently that's a no no

brycerichert Posted at 2015-8-14 15:15
what... we can't fly over a river that has a person in it now? Did somebody type that here?

Your not supposed to fly over crowds of people without their permission and state parks. It's just very important to check out where you're going to fly first to make sure it's OK and you're not going to be violating any laws or rules both on a local level and federal.  The future of this hobby in the USA depends on it.   Especially since the news media is ready to pounce on any drone related stories. The FAA would rather see these things banned and with each dumb incident that occurs with these, it's just adding another arrow to their quiver.  Continue not  flying by the rules and we will get banned to where we can only fly these things indoors that would really suck.

https://www.faa.gov/uas/model_aircraft/

http://knowbeforeyoufly.org

More specifically http://knowbeforeyoufly.org/for-recreational-users/

http://tfr.faa.gov/tfr2/list.html Click on the NOTAM link for the definition.

-Dog

jimcloud74@yaho Posted at 2015-8-14 10:46
Drones as high as 10000 feet! DAAAAYUUUUM. That is nuts. Not our lil' guys. But that doesn't matter, ...

The P3 can achieve altitudes of over 1000 feet.   Maximum altitude setting in the pilot app is 500m which equals 1640 feet.   As far as the United States is concerned that is a big no-no 400 feet or 122 meters should be the max altitude from ground level is all that you should fly.

-Dog

rayrokni Posted at 2015-8-14 14:31
please, bigger things fly over people and traffic, if your P3 is a solid flying quadcopter and you ...

Bird strikes bring down planes all the time, do a fricken google. And the drones are a little hardier than birds, will do more damage to an engine. Aircraft have redundancies, with pilots at the helm, whereas these unmanned quads have none at all. If they malfunction, they simply fall.

rayrokni Posted at 2015-8-14 14:31
please, bigger things fly over people and traffic, if your P3 is a solid flying quadcopter and you ...

Hi...
P3 is not going to cause a damage to big plane?what if a P3 or smaller solid are sucked in the engine of a plane?or hit wind shield?
A bird can cause a stall of compressor...imagine a solid plastic object sucked in the engine....

Wow...I'll make sure not to fly over a pond or ocean, so I don't kill a fishy. Some people here are WAY TOO OVER protective here. Go outside. Nobody is perfect.

nightrider1383@ Posted at 2015-8-14 22:30
Wow...I'll make sure not to fly over a pond or ocean, so I don't kill a fishy. Some people here are  ...

You know how many 10-15 lb bird strikes there are a year with impact speeds of 100mph-350mph?  Way over 5,000.  I think the media is just having a field day trying to demonize this hobby by fearmongering.  Of course you have the occasional J-hole but I really believe these stories give the media something to gather attention.

Yes the FAA rules are there for a reason. DON'T fly near airports( you cant in a DJI device)  , The dummy shouldn't have been anywhere near that fire and the FAA will probably find him at some point. We can't say if he had permission or not to fly over the event , but you should get permission. The river thing isn't as big of a deal as long as he was  not close to them, but i doubt he was within visual of his chopper. This guy is reckless and is one of the reasons we are getting a bad rap.  I could see how he was not following several of the FAA rules listed below. Unfortunately if stuff like this keeps up i could see a registration system being put into place just like other recreational vehicles in the US.  BTW DOG, I like the avatar.

Fly below 400 feet and remain clear of surrounding obstacles
Keep the aircraft within visual line of sight at all times
Remain well clear of and do not interfere with manned aircraft operations
Don't fly within 5 miles of an airport unless you contact the airport and control tower before flying
Don't fly near people or stadiums
Don't fly an aircraft that weighs more than 55 lbs
Don't be careless or reckless with your unmanned aircraft – you could be fined for endangering people or other aircraft

rayrokni Posted at 2015-8-14 14:31
please, bigger things fly over people and traffic, if your P3 is a solid flying quadcopter and you ...

Unfortunately...  These reports from pilots and the increasing number of fire fighting operations being grounded by irresponsible drone pilots is responsible for the FAA "re evaluating" the rules for hobby drone operations.   I would not be surprised if the FAA bans all hobby drone operation in the US in the near future.

Dive-N-Dog Posted at 2015-8-14 15:22
Your not supposed to fly over crowds of people without their permission and state parks. It's just  ...

Agreed!  Fly by the rules or get ALL HOBBY DRONES BANNED IN THE USA.

I have to admit drones in the USA make me laugh a little. Everyone panic!!! A small handful of people are out there flying drones in a way that is unsafe.. this is the end of the world as we know it!!! ... but we seem to be okay with people walking around carrying guns shooting each other....Not that I don't get really mad when I hear about people flying drones by airports or above 400ft, but I think yall have bigger fish to fry before you go hunting drone pilots that are flying a little outside the law.

Here is my idea. Fit all hobby drones with a small explosive device - just large enough to only disable and destroy the drone - whenever an aircraft in flight is detected within 100 meters distance and within 50 meters of altitude. Boom! - Yer GONE dumb ass!

Please forgive my obvious silliness. In all seriousness, I believe local laws should provide some pretty punitve consequences for these irresponsible folks and make them known, so that second thoughts prevail BEFORE such flights.

ALSO - IF YOU KNOW OF ANYONE AT ALL in your neighborhood that has a multicopter, PLEASE TALK TO THEM AND MAKE CERTAIN THEY KNOW THE COMMON SENSE RULES! Please be proactive  - Don't wait. Being REactive instead of PROactive can hurt us all.

ANOTHER ALSO - Get yourself in the newspaper as RESPONSIBLE PILOTS, give a talk at the local Chamber of Commerce, Rotary or Lions Club - Geeez, even the local Garden Club - whatever! EDUCATE (again, proactively) to obtain a good name for this activity and our hard-earned aircraft! Please. You will be helping all of us.

jimcloud74@yaho Posted at 2015-8-14 10:46
Drones as high as 10000 feet! DAAAAYUUUUM. That is nuts. Not our lil' guys. But that doesn't matter, ...

I think one of the reason some of these so called "pilots" fly their drones in irresponsible manners, is partly our fault. We sit here and watch some of their videos and then when we look down at the comments below, we see people praising their work. People thinking how cool their video is... how brave they are to try something like that....great shot etc.
I watched a video a couple of weeks ago, and the guy broke just about every law going and the comments on his video where all positive. I condemned him for the way he was flying (in as nice a manner as I could), and I was the one that got blasted from everyone.
As long as we condone this type of behavior, these guys are going to continue.
"If you are not part of the solution.... You are part of the problem"

Dive-N-Dog Posted at 2015-8-14 15:22
Your not supposed to fly over crowds of people without their permission and state parks. It's just  ...

I'm pretty sure you made that first line up.

Flying over people doesn't require their permission, and the FAA has listed it as a safety suggestion to avoid.

Flights in National Parks have been banned but laws for State parks vary depending on where they are located.

AlmostTan Posted at 2015-8-15 03:19
I'm pretty sure you made that first line up.

Flying over people doesn't require their permission, ...

Sorry...I didn't make anything up.

I never said that flying over people violates any law and you are correct the FAA encourages us not to.  I just think its not a good idea to piss off the FAA by going against their recommendations, plus most of the multi-rotor pilots are very inexperienced and if they were to have a flyaway into someone's head that would not be good either.

As for state parks you are correct its on a park by park bases.  In this case he was flying at Negro Bar State park in Folsom California.  They do not permit flying any RC aircraft at the park.  Here is their number (916) 988-0205 give them a call if you like.
I think that it is a good idea to check where your going to fly.

-Dog

CrashTest Dummy Posted at 2015-8-15 02:21
I think one of the reason some of these so called "pilots" fly their drones in irresponsible manne ...

That is a great point and you hit the nail on the head.  There are people the will fly anywhere to get video content to post on their YouTube channel so they can get the hits or maybe it will go viral.  These are the  UAS pilots that worry me.  They don't care about the laws or rules and are getting bad PR for the hobby.  At least they are easy to catch since they post there content on their own YouTube channel.  The bad news is they claim that they didn't know and thought that it was okay cause they seen someone else doing it.

One idea I have is when you first get a Multi-Rotor and get ready to fly it for the first time, it will require a code to unlock it.  In order to get the code you will have to go to a website that will educate you and have a small test to pass to get the code.  Now they will know.

-Dog

Dive-N-Dog Posted at 2015-8-15 23:56
That is a great point and you hit the nail on the head.  There are people the will fly anywhere to  ...

I agree on taking a test before operation, however for someone to get a drivers license in the USA, you are required to if under 18 or some states 21 years of age to also have taken a drivers training course and have so many hours supervised behind the wheel before being turned lose.

Even with those requirements, new drivers are involved in more accidents that someone that's been driving for 10 years plus.

Educating people on the risks and what their obligations are in order to fly should be paramount. IMO, making it a requirement to get a part 333 exemption for flight makes sense. Requiring marking and insurance should also be implemented provided the insurance isn't overly expensive.

Have a separate class of "drones" that are manufacturer limited to 100 foot elevation and maybe 500 foot range with no FPV. If you wish to operate a more featured unit, then apply for the 333 exemption.

This same scheme is used in a lot of countries for mopeds (50cc or smaller), 250cc -500cc motorcycles, and a super class of 750cc or higher classes.

You can't regulate stupid.   The USA has so many laws and regulations its impossible to be aware of even 1-2% and comply with them.

yea the guy sthat know this asshole endangered somebodys life with his stupid move need to turn him or her in to the cops